New exhibit shows how New York fought WWI

The 77th “Liberty” Division was raised almost entirely from conscripted soldiers from the New York City region. The ...more

The 77th “Liberty” Division was raised almost entirely from conscripted soldiers from the New York City region. The division was applauded as a true cross-section of the city and state, and contained “almost every race and creed under the sun.” After being organized at Camp Upton, Long Island, the division became the first National Army division to arrive in Europe in April 1918.

“A Spirit of Sacrifice: New York State in the First World War” opens at state museum in Albany

When the United States finally entered “the War to End All Wars” in April 1917, European powers had been fighting in French trenches and on multiple battlefronts around the world for nearly three years, with hundreds of thousands of casualties.

As part of the American war effort, every state sent soldiers, ammunition and other supplies across the ocean to try to defeat Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire — but no state gave more and sacrificed more than New York.

The numbers are striking: One out of 10 soldiers who served in the U.S. Army’s American Expeditionary Forces in France under Gen. John J. "Black Jack” Pershing — totaling more than 200,000 men — came from New York. It also was one of three states to offer an entire National Guard division, and in addition supplied a draft division solely from New York City and part of a second division from western New York. More than 250,000 others were in the Navy or elsewhere in military service at home or abroad.

Of course, that also meant that New Yorkers sacrificed more lives, with its 15,000 casualties by far the highest of any state.

Peaceful moments were rare in the American trenches during World War I, even during mealtime.

Peaceful moments were rare in the American trenches during World War I, even during mealtime.

New York State Library photo

On the home front, some 38,000 companies throughout the state had government contracts for war supplies, and more than 1 million New Yorkers were employed in various war-related industries. In addition, New York led the nation in fundraising for the war through Liberty Bonds, and served as the headquarters for charitable organizations such as the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. Other groups aided with humanitarian crises in the Middle East and Belgium, and Red Star Animal Relief in Albany took donations to care for horses and pack animals on Western Front.

A new exhibit titled “A Spirit of Sacrifice: New York State in the First World War,” which opened April 15 at the New York State Museum in Albany, reaches back 100 years to tell the history of the conflict from an Empire State perspective.

“We knew that there was a story there, but it was only after we started delving into the research that we really became aware of how much of a story there is,” said senior historian Aaron Noble, who curated the exhibit.

“A Spirit of Sacrifice” features almost 70 posters from the collections of the New York State Library and the New York State Museum, as well as about 200 objects from the museum, and other museums and historical societies around the state.

“A Spirit of Sacrifice: New York State in the First World War,” a new exhibit at the New York State ...more

“A Spirit of Sacrifice: New York State in the First World War,” a new exhibit at the New York State Museum, includes a re-creation of a World War I trench.

Provided photo

“The war touched every corner of the state, every socio-economic group, every region,” Noble said in a recent interview. “For the first time, the nation enacted a draft that didn’t offer the ability to purchase a substitute, so the wealthy weren’t exempt from the draft like they had been in the Civil War. The entire nation was registering for the chance to serve their country. President (Woodrow) Wilson tried to sell it as this idea of universal participation, even though not every man was in uniform at the time.”

One feature of the exhibit is the re-creation of a World War I trench where soldiers fought on the Western Front, from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. Noble credits designer Craig Gravina for making it look as realistic as possible, including the layer of mud and grime that covered everything.

This instrument, called a taffrail log, was produced by General Electric in Schenectady for use in ...more

This instrument, called a taffrail log, was produced by General Electric in Schenectady for use in World War I. It determined a vessel’s speed and distance traveled. “Taffrail” refers to the railing at the stern of the ship where the log was mounted when it was in use. Taffrail logs, such as these, were used by the U.S. Navy throughout the war.

New York State Museum photo

“In 2010, we had done an exhibit on the New York National Guard that had a portion of it talking about New York’s role in World War I,” Noble said. “A small part of the exhibit was where we talked about life in the trenches, and he worked on that project. He felt that it didn’t do justice to what the conditions were there, so when he was assigned to this project and given the time frame to do it, he wanted to be able to let visitors really get a sense of how miserable conditions were there.

“We’ve created a replica of a trench fire bay, complete with the equipment a soldier would have been issued, and a mannequin of a uniformed soldier ‘standing to,’ which is what soldiers would have done at dawn and dusk to stand on the firing line and keep an eye out for any potential enemy attacks.”

The story of manufacturers involved in the war effort covers the entire state, from weapons and ships to clothing and food. By the end of the war, the Empire State would lead in the tonnage of supplies sent to Europe and elsewhere.

Edward Buyck’s 1918 “Brain & Brawn” poster, published by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department, touts ...more

Edward Buyck’s 1918 “Brain & Brawn” poster, published by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department, touts how the Watervliet Arsenal constructed large-bore cannons for coastal defense and naval warships during World War I. In 1918 alone, Watervliet manufactured 465 cannons.

New York State Museum photo

“The exhibit will feature an incredibly small portion of companies, but they include Eastman Kodak, General Electric and Endicott Johnson from Binghamton — which produced the vast majority of the leather shoes for the U.S. Army,” Noble said. “Remington Arms was a major manufacturer of firearms during the war, as was Savage Arms in Utica. The list goes on and on. We tried to geographically cover the state in terms of the manufacturers that were participating and contributing to the effort.”

Looking beyond the end of the war on Nov. 11, 1918 — “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,” originally celebrated as Armistice Day but now Veterans Day — the “Spirit of Sacrifice” exhibit addresses America’s changing attitudes and culture.

“The positive side was confidence and this newly emerging superpower — although we don’t fully emerge until the Second World War,” Noble said. “America was asserting itself with a confidence and pride, and New York played a leading role in that endeavor.

This tunic belonged to a soldier in the 165th Infantry Regiment. During training at Camp Mills, ...more

This tunic belonged to a soldier in the 165th Infantry Regiment. During training at Camp Mills, Long Island, the unit became part of the 42nd Division.

William F. Howard Collection photo

“We re-examined New York’s place in the world and the nation. New York City surpasses London as the credit capital of the world; New York Harbor becomes the world’s busiest port; New York industries thrive after a brief recession immediately after the war; and that economic stimulus continues into and is a leading contributor of the Roaring ‘20s that we see up until 1929.”

However, the war also caused shockwaves across many aspects of American society. A generation of young men either died on European battlefields or returned home scarred, both physically and mentally, and the nation was ill-prepared for demobilization.

Questions about civil rights and free speech arose with the establishment of the Lusk Committee in the state legislature, which — in the wake of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia — investigated individuals and organizations suspected of sedition by raiding offices and examining documents, infiltrating meetings, assisting law enforcement agents in thousands of arrests, and subpoenaing witnesses to testify.

Adolph Treidler’s “For Every Fighter a Woman Worker” poster from 1918 shows how organizations like ...more

Adolph Treidler’s “For Every Fighter a Woman Worker” poster from 1918 shows how organizations like the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) sought to improve the conditions of and care for the young women answering the nation’s call during the war, as well as the soldiers.

New York State Museum photo

African-Americans also struggled for equality. For instance, the members of the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment — known as the “Harlem Hellfighters” — came from the New York National Guard’s 15th Regiment and emerged from the war with one of the most stellar combat records of any Army unit. When they returned home, though, they realized that the same old racism prevailed. Cities all across America, particularly in the Jim Crow South, erupted in the “Red Summer” of 1919, where whites attacked and killed blacks over pressures about employment and housing.

“There are a lot of issues and a lot of legacy points that will resonate and cause visitors to reassess the importance of World War I,” Noble said.

As part of “A Spirit of Sacrifice,” the New York State Museum has worked with its education department to develop a plan for teachers to share with students how the war and its aftermath continue to affect the Empire State today

“Unlike past exhibits we have done, we’ve made a conscious effort to make this something that can be utilized not only for groups that come to the museum, but by teachers around the state through our web-based exhibit feature,” Noble said. “The education plan and guide are designed so that a teacher in Buffalo maybe can’t take their class on a field trip to the museum in Albany, but they can utilize the website in conjunction with this teachers’ guide and really convey the significance of events to their students.

James Montgomery Flagg’s 1914 “I Want You” recruiting poster featuring Uncle Sam became an iconic call to arms. More than 4 million copies of the poster were printed.

New York State Library photo

“The posters are so visually stunning; they’re a fantastic way to have kids think critically about document-based research and reasoning by using the graphic design elements and what those artists were trying to convey to the public. It forces students to analyze New York’s role in these pivotal events, the legacy of which we’re still experiencing and still grappling with today.

“Part of it is that World War I is such a forgotten conflict that we tend to think of it as this brief blip in the 20th century that’s overshadowed by the Second World War, so as educators go through the plan, they’ll find some useful tools to drive home the point that the origins of many of the issues we’re confronting in today’s society have their foundations in the World War I era.”

The New York State Legislature on March 29, 1917, authorized Gov. Charles Whitman to carry out a ...more

The New York State Legislature on March 29, 1917, authorized Gov. Charles Whitman to carry out a census, requiring the registration of all men and women between the ages of 16 and 50. When Congress enacted the Selective Service System, 2,917,909 names of New York men were forwarded to Washington.